Tête-à-Tête
Mr. Swapnil Garg speaks
Choithram International is an IB school catering to the needs of diversified groups of people by providing quality education to the young learners and fostering their holistic growth. The parent community of the school consists of distinct and honourable members of the society. One such parent is Mr. Swapnil Garg who is currently an Associate Professor at IIM Indore. He has a had a distinct academic and professional career and his vision and thoughts would definitely prove to be path pavers for the young learners.
To derive from his experiences and build upon his ideals, two students of the school conducted an interview with him via email. Here are the key excerpts of the same-
Good Morning Sir!! We would be grateful if you could respond to the following questions-
Q- Did you always have a clear vision of your career since your childhood? If not, then what was your dream?
A- I grew up in a middle-class family, living in an academic campus. I had lots of friends, who are today dispersed all over the world and connected through whatsapp. We formed our views and aspirations both inside our houses and while interacting and playing together. Looking back, as we grew up most of us cannot claim that we had a clear view of what we are today. But there is one thing on which we had no doubt - we longed to make a positive difference to the world when we grew up and thus we used to dream of fighting for the country, discovering new things, inventing new gadgets, and writing books that everyone would love to read.
Q- Before taking up the job as a teaching faculty at IIM you worked with the Railways. What motivated you for the shift and be a Professor?
A- You get only one life to live! Railways provides a career job. One slowly but steadily rises in a fixed hierarchical organizational structure. I was too restless to let that happen to me, and found myself constrained. Further, I found many of my senior colleagues continuing on in job as they felt that they were no longer capable of doing anything else.
These two aspects emerged as formidable challenges in front of me. But, I found no reason to feel helpless and live to others' mercy' I pulled up my socks and decided to put in a dedicated effort to enhance my capabilities and increase my relevance to my job, my organization, and my nation. This pushed me towards higher education.
Once into higher education, I found that I uniquely understood both the practitioner’s world and the academic world. To be able to understand their linkages better and to make others appreciate them better I decided to become a professor.
Q- What made you choose this field of study?
A- This was not a deliberate choice but a drift. Overtime, my railway engineering job had
put me in the shoes of a manager. As an engineer by education I found management confusing. There were no straight answers. My search for these answers made me pursue a Ph.D. in management.
Q- Do you think that today’s education system/techniques are different from that of your time? If yes, then how? Do you think it has become more complicated now?
A- I find many different flavours in today’s educational system. On one extreme is the well developed curriculum like the one at Choithram International, which seeks to let children develop in the area that they like, and everyone is provided a chance to blossom. However, there still are institutions which teach the same way in which we were taught 30 years back. As the world has changed I do not see that system relevant today. However, the older system did have some key advantages that should not be allowed to let go. That system taught us what was right and what was wrong! That system taught us that there is no substitute for hard work! These aspects should be carefully nurtured in the new educational systems as they evolve into the future.
Q- What do you look for in your students?
A- I like my students to be curious and willing to get involved. My best students are those who come forward in class to raise issues, and not accept what I say, just because I said it.
Q- What problems do you face with the students of this generation? How would you recommend them to change?
A- Generations do not have problems! There are only different perspectives. Students are going to change and the education will change them. I would not like to dictate the direction of change to the students of this generation. Rather, I like to see them fully prepared to adapt to the change, which would come whether we like it or not.
Q- Do you have any experiences that you would like to share with us?
A- My long career has provided me lots of interesting experiences. One of these relates to the crying farewell from a subordinate officer with whom I had been very tough. Surprisingly, he was crying thanking me for being tough with him and forcing him to see where his strengths lay. He was appreciative of the fact that I was the first who told him where he was wrong and where he was right in his long career, and hence he felt that I truly cared for him.
Q- What do you consider to be one of your greatest achievements?
A- During my career I have had an opportunity to bring about change in the thinking of some very stubborn people, some very stubborn organizational habits and practices and very stubborn social traditions. The ability to bring about these changes gives me the greatest sense of achievement.
Q- What is the meaning of being a ‘successful teacher’ to you?
A- A successful teacher is the one who can impact his/her students in a positive way and inspire the students to work relentlessly in whatever they want to achieve.
Q- What opinion do you have about the education board (IB/IGCSE) our school follows? How far is it helpful to the students considering today’s scenario?
A- I am an admirer of the IB/IGCSE school system, though I have myself got educated in the ICSE/ISC board. The single biggest marker that this is a good system lies in the recognition that the system of evaluation that the board uses is what we at IIM are still trying to adopt. It is the same path. IIM, Indore is still to adopt what Choithram International has already adopted and perfected.
Q- Would you like to give a message to the young students of our school?
A- BE HONEST TO YOURSELF! EVERYTHING ELSE WILL FALL IN LINE.
Thank you so much Sir for your valuable words and enlightening thoughts. We at Choithram International would definitely try to keep up to the message you have provided and will see that honesty remains as the guiding force in all our endeavours.
~Parul Tambe and Nidhi Polekar
DP 1
To derive from his experiences and build upon his ideals, two students of the school conducted an interview with him via email. Here are the key excerpts of the same-
Good Morning Sir!! We would be grateful if you could respond to the following questions-
Q- Did you always have a clear vision of your career since your childhood? If not, then what was your dream?
A- I grew up in a middle-class family, living in an academic campus. I had lots of friends, who are today dispersed all over the world and connected through whatsapp. We formed our views and aspirations both inside our houses and while interacting and playing together. Looking back, as we grew up most of us cannot claim that we had a clear view of what we are today. But there is one thing on which we had no doubt - we longed to make a positive difference to the world when we grew up and thus we used to dream of fighting for the country, discovering new things, inventing new gadgets, and writing books that everyone would love to read.
Q- Before taking up the job as a teaching faculty at IIM you worked with the Railways. What motivated you for the shift and be a Professor?
A- You get only one life to live! Railways provides a career job. One slowly but steadily rises in a fixed hierarchical organizational structure. I was too restless to let that happen to me, and found myself constrained. Further, I found many of my senior colleagues continuing on in job as they felt that they were no longer capable of doing anything else.
These two aspects emerged as formidable challenges in front of me. But, I found no reason to feel helpless and live to others' mercy' I pulled up my socks and decided to put in a dedicated effort to enhance my capabilities and increase my relevance to my job, my organization, and my nation. This pushed me towards higher education.
Once into higher education, I found that I uniquely understood both the practitioner’s world and the academic world. To be able to understand their linkages better and to make others appreciate them better I decided to become a professor.
Q- What made you choose this field of study?
A- This was not a deliberate choice but a drift. Overtime, my railway engineering job had
put me in the shoes of a manager. As an engineer by education I found management confusing. There were no straight answers. My search for these answers made me pursue a Ph.D. in management.
Q- Do you think that today’s education system/techniques are different from that of your time? If yes, then how? Do you think it has become more complicated now?
A- I find many different flavours in today’s educational system. On one extreme is the well developed curriculum like the one at Choithram International, which seeks to let children develop in the area that they like, and everyone is provided a chance to blossom. However, there still are institutions which teach the same way in which we were taught 30 years back. As the world has changed I do not see that system relevant today. However, the older system did have some key advantages that should not be allowed to let go. That system taught us what was right and what was wrong! That system taught us that there is no substitute for hard work! These aspects should be carefully nurtured in the new educational systems as they evolve into the future.
Q- What do you look for in your students?
A- I like my students to be curious and willing to get involved. My best students are those who come forward in class to raise issues, and not accept what I say, just because I said it.
Q- What problems do you face with the students of this generation? How would you recommend them to change?
A- Generations do not have problems! There are only different perspectives. Students are going to change and the education will change them. I would not like to dictate the direction of change to the students of this generation. Rather, I like to see them fully prepared to adapt to the change, which would come whether we like it or not.
Q- Do you have any experiences that you would like to share with us?
A- My long career has provided me lots of interesting experiences. One of these relates to the crying farewell from a subordinate officer with whom I had been very tough. Surprisingly, he was crying thanking me for being tough with him and forcing him to see where his strengths lay. He was appreciative of the fact that I was the first who told him where he was wrong and where he was right in his long career, and hence he felt that I truly cared for him.
Q- What do you consider to be one of your greatest achievements?
A- During my career I have had an opportunity to bring about change in the thinking of some very stubborn people, some very stubborn organizational habits and practices and very stubborn social traditions. The ability to bring about these changes gives me the greatest sense of achievement.
Q- What is the meaning of being a ‘successful teacher’ to you?
A- A successful teacher is the one who can impact his/her students in a positive way and inspire the students to work relentlessly in whatever they want to achieve.
Q- What opinion do you have about the education board (IB/IGCSE) our school follows? How far is it helpful to the students considering today’s scenario?
A- I am an admirer of the IB/IGCSE school system, though I have myself got educated in the ICSE/ISC board. The single biggest marker that this is a good system lies in the recognition that the system of evaluation that the board uses is what we at IIM are still trying to adopt. It is the same path. IIM, Indore is still to adopt what Choithram International has already adopted and perfected.
Q- Would you like to give a message to the young students of our school?
A- BE HONEST TO YOURSELF! EVERYTHING ELSE WILL FALL IN LINE.
Thank you so much Sir for your valuable words and enlightening thoughts. We at Choithram International would definitely try to keep up to the message you have provided and will see that honesty remains as the guiding force in all our endeavours.
~Parul Tambe and Nidhi Polekar
DP 1